Y/N POV.
USWNT star Alex Morgan set to join Tottenham Hotspur Women on loan until the end of the WSL season.
I close the news page I have open, not bothering to read the rest of the story. I can't believe Alex Morgan is joining my club.
I lock my phone placing it on the table, I get up to go to the kitchen and grab a bottle of water from the fridge.
the thing not many people know is I have a history with Alex. I'm not sure I'm ready to see her again, she left me hurt for a long time.
I walk out of the kitchen and head to my bedroom, I head over to my bed and pick up my training gear, throwing it on I then grab my trainers and put them on, after tying my laces I get up and head out.
I walk over to the table and pick up my phone and keys, I leave the house and lock my door, I climb into my car and head to training.
...
Alex's POV.
here I am, currently at my first training session with Tottenham. I'm excited to get started, playing in the WSL is a whole new world. the weather in England isn't great but I can't wait to get out on the pitch again after over a year.
I'm currently standing on the field with one of my new teammates, Josie I believe. we were just talking about soccer when I see her look behind me and smile.
"well if it isn't the best 'keeper in the league." I hear Josie say.
"if it isn't the best Midfielder in the league." I hear another voice reply, a voice that sounds familiar.
I look behind me to see Josie run towards a girl, another teammate I guess, and hug her. I can't really see her face so I have no idea who she is yet.
I slowly walk towards them, not wanting to interrupt them, as I get closer the other girl looks up and I suddenly stop walking.
it can't be. it can't be Y/N Y/L/N. I haven't seen her for a long time.
"Hey Y/N, this is Alex Morgan. she's our new teammate for a while." I hear Josie speak up.
Y/N looks into my eyes, pulling away from Josie she walks towards me and holds out her hand.
"Y/N Y/L/N, nice to meet you."
I look down at her hand then look back into her eyes, why is she acting like she doesn't know who I am? I hold my hand out and place it in hers.
"Alex Morgan, nice to meet you too."
she quickly drops my hand after I reply, she takes a step back and looks back to Josie.
"is everybody here yet?" I hear her ask Josie.
"not yet, a couple of people and us three, everyone else will arrive soon though." Josie replies.
"cool, fancy practising some peno's? I could do with working on them a bit more." Y/N asks.
"are you kidding? as I said before you're the best 'keeper in the league." Josie looks at Y/N.
"maybe, but I've been letting too many goals in lately, I need more work." Y/N says as she starts walking towards a goal.
"whatever you say, you're still the best though." Josie says following Y/N.
I have no idea what I'm supposed to do so I just stand there waiting for someone to tell me where I need to be.
I hear someone shout my name and I look up seeing it was Y/N calling out to me.
"are you coming or what? let's see what you're made of." Y/N shouts across the field.
I smile and run towards her and Josie, I sit down on the grass and take off my shoes replacing them with my cleats. time to get started at my new club.
...
Y/N POV.
Josie Alex and I have been practising penalties for over an hour now, Alex has a pretty decent shot on her, I only let one penalty in out of 20 though.
I'm currently stood at the side of the goal taking a sip of my water, I look to the side and see Alex walking towards me. I take one more sip of my water and throw the bottle back on the floor. I look up and Alex is stood next to me, I look at her as she begins to talk.
"hey, it's good to see you again." Alex says with a smile.
"yeah sure, whatever you say." I reply, unbothered.
"what? I thought we were okay, you seemed good with me earlier." Alex looks at me confused.
"yeah because Josie was there, I don't want her to think anything is wrong." I tell her.
"so you're going to be nice to me when other people are around but not when we're alone?" Alex asks.
"look Alex, I don't like you but we don't have any drama on this team, so if someone is around I'll be cool, but when it's just you and I, I don't want to talk to you." I reply, taking off my gloves.
"are you serious? Y/N, I know I hurt you but it's been years, haven't you forgiven me?" Alex says.
I turn around and look deeply into her eyes.
"you didn't hurt me Alex, you broke me. it took me so long to get over what you did to me, it took me so long to move on and trust people again. now here you are again acting like everything is good, I thought I forgave you but seeing you again brought it all back. listen I'll be alright with you for the good of the team, but other than that please stay out of my way." I finish speaking and walk away, not bothering to hear what else Alex has to say.
...
I walk behind Josie and wrap my arms around her waist, leaning my head on her shoulder I kiss her cheek.
"hey Y/N, what's up?" I hear her say.
"nothing, I just missed you is all." I whisper into her ear.
"we just spent almost two hours training together, how could you possibly miss me" Josie replies chuckling.
I lift my head from her shoulder and walk around her to stand in front of her.
"hey listen, you're like a drug. I have withdrawal symptoms if I go without you for too long." I tell her, looking into her eyes.
Josie looks back at me and starts laughing.
"you're crazy." Josie says.
"yeah I know, but you love me anyway." I tell her.
"of course I do, who wouldn't love you? come on let's go get changed." she smiles and grabs my hand walking towards the changing rooms.
"Alex doesn't love me." I say quietly, not quietly enough though.
"Y/N/N, you've only just met, why would she love you?" Josie asks, looking at me.
"uh, no reason. it was just a joke." I reply, laughing awkwardly.
"you know you can't lie to me, what did you mean by that?" Josie stops walking and looks into my eyes.
"nothing, don't worry about it. it's not important, let's just go." I tell her, removing my hand from hers and walking slowly towards the changing rooms.
"Y/N, get back here and talk to me." Josie demands.
I stop walking and turn around, looking at Josie with a sad look on my face. she walks towards me and puts her hand on my shoulder, she pulls me towards the dugout and we sit down, she looks into my eyes and starts talking.
"Y/N, you're my best friend. I know when something is bothering you, and even if I didn't your face is kind of giving it away, so talk to me. no one is around anymore, it's just you and I. I'm here for you whenever something is bothering you, you know that." Josie says calmly, looking into my eyes.
"I know, I'm just not sure I can or want to talk about it. it was a tough time for me and I hate remembering it." I tell her honestly.
she looks at me with a soft smile, leaning back against the chairs she pulls me into her arms.
"I know you always have a hard time opening up, but I was watching you the moment you saw Alex, something didn't seem right. you already knew who she was, didn't you?" Josie asks.
"uh, yeah. kind of." I reply.
"so tell me, what's going on?" she asks again.
"alright, I can't be bothered to go through it all because I don't want to even think about her. but basically, we met in college, we were roommates, we both loved soccer which brought us closer together, we became best friends, like completely inseparable. anyway, as time went on I started to fall for her, I tried to hold it in because I didn't even know if she was into girls and I didn't want to ruin our friendship, but as the days passed it got harder." I stop talking for a moment to catch my breath, I look at Josie and see her listening to everything I say.
she looks down at me and smiles.
"carry on." she says.
"alright, one night there was a college party at one of the popular student dorms, Alex and I decided that we would go. as the party went on I got super shit faced, I was starting to cause some trouble. Alex stayed sober since she was never really a big drinker. anyway, she told me it was time to leave so we did, we got into her car and drove back to our dorm. I could barely walk so she helped me inside and helped me get undressed." I stop talking again, opening my water bottle and taking a long drink.
Josie sits patiently waiting for me to carry on, the next part is a whole lot I don't want to remember.
"okay, what happened next?" I hear Josie ask.
I look back at her and continue to tell the story.
"she was so gentle and patient with, I was completely out of it but she stayed with me and helped me. as she was taking of my shoes I looked at her, just really looked you know, and honestly she was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, even now I've never seen anyone as beautiful as she is. no offence to you though, you're still beautiful too." I say to Josie.
she looks at me and chuckles.
"no offence taken, carry on." she tells me.
"anyway, you know how a lot of the time I just do things without thinking about them first? that was one of those times, I just kept staring at her until I moved forward and kissed her. I don't remember much after that except that she pushed me away and ran out of the room. I felt so stupid and embarrassed that I cried myself to sleep."
I stop talking again then I sit up and start twiddling my thumbs, taking a deep breath I continue the story.
"the next morning I woke up with a huge headache, not remembering much from the night before I was confused because Alex wasn't in the room. I slowly climbed out of bed and walked towards the kitchen, Alex was there sat at the kitchen counter. I tried speaking to her but she wouldn't even look at me, anyway a few hours later I remembered what happened and I decided to speak to her, turns out she pushed me away because I was drunk and she didn't want to take advantage of me. basically, long story short, we kissed again, started dating for a while and we were actually happy, or at least I was." I finish telling the story again.
"what do you mean at least you was? what happened after that? why aren't you two friends now?" Josie asks looking confused.
I lift my head up and turn it looking back at Josie, I laugh dryly.
"we dated for about 8 months, turns out she was cheating on me with some weird guy for 3 of them. 3 months and I didn't even know, how stupid is that?"
I didn't even realise I was crying until I felt Josie rub her thumb under my eye.
"that's not stupid at all, how could you know? you loved her. she's the stupid one for cheating on you." I hear Josie say softly.
"nah, I was stupid for even thinking I could be loved by someone like her. do you know what's even more stupid? I still love her even now. after all this time, she's still the greatest thing that happened to me." I tell Josie.
"I'm so sorry Y/N, why didn't you tell me about this before?" Josie asks.
"I tried to forget about it, but she's everywhere, it's hard to forget and let go." I reply.
I slowly stand up and take a deep breath, I run my fingers through my hair and take another sip of my water.
as I'm drinking I hear a little giggle, I lift my head up and look across the field, and there she is. Alex. with a baby.
"what the..." I whisper, looking confused.
"Y/N, come on. let's just go." I hear Josie say, placing her hand on my shoulder.
"it just gets worse." I shake my head and shrug Josie's hand from my shoulder. I turn around and walk away from her, I run to my car and drive away from the training ground.
...
one week later, Alex's POV.
Y/N hasn't beeen in training for 2 days, our coach says she's sick right now so she's getting rest. if I'm being honest, I'm kind of worried about her.
I haven't spoken to her since my first day here, she won't even look at me. Josie hasn't spoken to me either, I saw them talking after training, I saw Y/N all over Josie, I guess they're dating or something.
I saw her face as well when she saw Charlie, she looked shocked and kind of hurt? I wanted to tell her about Charlie but when she told me she didn't want to talk to me I couldn't tell her.
that day when Y/N told me she hated me actually really hurt, I don't know what's happening right now but when I saw her for the first time again I had this really weird feeling.
we're currently in training right now getting ready for the game against Manchester City, we're all hoping Y/N will be ready for it, we really need her.
I'm excited for the match, happy to get out on the field again. I'll also get to see my USWNT teammates, Sam and Rose.
I'm pulled out of my thoughts when I hear coach talking.
"okay ladies listen up, we're going to be doing some passing and shooting drills, Alex, Josie, I want you two partnered together." coach tells us.
I walk towards Josie, I bring the ball to my feet and start passing it towards her.
"how's Y/N doing? will she be ready for the City game?" I ask Josie as she passes the ball back to me.
"don't know, maybe. what do you care anyway?" Josie replies coldly.
"what do you mean? I do care, she's a cool person. and a fantastic keeper, we need her." I tell her.
"yeah she is, but if you care so much why would you cheat on her?" Josie asks, glaring at me.
"oh, she told you huh?" I ask looking down at my cleats.
"yeah she told me, you really messed her up you know." Josie says, passing the ball to me again.
"I know, she told me. if I could take it back I would, I was a stupid teenager and I let a really good girl go. I can't take back what I did, but I can try to be a better person now. I know you want to look out for your girlfriend but I won't hurt her again." I tell Josie.
as I pass the ball back to Josie I hear her starting to laugh, I look up at her and scrunch my eyebrows in confusion.
"wait, what? my girlfriend?" Josie asks as her laughs calm down.
"uh, yeah? I saw her with you the other day. I thought you were dating." I reply.
"ew, no way. she's just my best friend. there is no way we are dating." Josie tells me, still chuckling.
"oh, uh sorry. I just assumed." I tell her, embarrassed.
"it's cool, she's an amazing girl and sure she's hot but she's not my type." Josie replies, smiling.
"fair enough, again I'm sorry. look I'm sure you don't like me anymore either, but I really am sorry okay? Y/N still holds a big part in my heart, she wasn't just my girlfriend, she was my best friend too. I'd do anything to have her back in my life." I tell Josie honestly.
she looks up at me and smiles softly.
"just give her some time, okay? seeing you married to the guy you cheated on her with isn't easy, and now you have a kid as well. it's hard right now but she'll come around. just go slowly." Josie tells me as we sit down on the field taking a break.
"okay, thank you." I look at her and smile.
she holds up her fist looking at me, I lift up mine and press it against hers.
3 days later.
Y/N returned to training the next day, she still wouldn't talk to me but I decided to take Josie's advice and just give her time.
today is the day we play Manchester City, we are all currently in the locker room getting ready for warm ups.
Josie and Y/N are sat together talking, I'm sat by myself with my headphones on. the rest of the team are currently doing the game rituals as well.
I'm just about to change songs when I feel a tap on my shoulder, I look up and see Y/N in front of me, I take off my headphones and look into her eyes.
"time to go warm up Al." I hear her say.
I continue to look at her and start to smile.
"what? do I have something on my face?" she asks.
"no." I reply.
"then why are you looking at me like that?" she questions.
"no reason, I just haven't heard you call me 'Al' in a while is all." I tell her, still smiling.
"oh, sorry. it just slipped out." she looks down at her feet.
"it's cool, I like it. come on, let's go." I put my hand on her shoulder and push her forwards.
she lifts her head up and turns around to smile at me before walking ahead and walking onto the field.
warm ups are finished and we're currently in the tunnel waiting to head out. I'm stood behind Y/N, I lean towards her.
"good luck, Y/N/N." I whisper in her ear.
I feel her shiver and chuckle quietly, she still has this weird effect on me, and I'm starting to believe I have one on her too.
as we walk out of the tunnel we can hear the fans cheering, I look up into the stands and smile seeing everyone supporting us.
we line up and then begin to shake hands with the other team, as I continue walking I come face to face with Sam and Rose, with a big smile on my face I wish them luck and the game begins.
...
by the time half time arrives the game is still 0-0, we head into the locker room for our 15 minute break.
we get something to drink and listen to our coach talk, Y/N is currently changing her top after it getting muddy from all the saves she's made. at this current moment she is the only reason we are still in this game.
after our team talk we head back out for the 2nd half.
75 minutes into the game we are on the attack, Josie is running with the ball at her feet, I look around me and see that I'm unmarked.
"Josie, I'm open!" I shout across the field.
I see Josie look up and cross the ball to me, I level the ball with my chest and let it fall to my feet, I turn around and see the keeper off her line, I launch the ball into the air and hold my breath.
I watch the ball fly into the back of the net and hear the cheers around the stadium, I turn around and see Josie running towards me, she jumps on my back and cheers into my ear.
"great goal, Alex." I hear her say.
"great assist, Josie." I reply with a smile on my face.
as she jumps off my back I feel arms wrap around me, I open my eyes and see Y/N hugging me.
with a huge smile on my face I wrap my arms tightly around her, feeling butterflies in my stomach.
"good goal Al." I hear her whisper.
"thank you, Y/N/N. go back to your post before you get into trouble." I tell her still smiling.
I see her run back as City get ready to kick back off.
the match is now at 92 minutes, we have 5 minutes added on. we still have the lead but City are currently on the attack.
as I'm slowly walking down field I look up and see Sam shoot on goal, Y/N jumps up high and knocks the ball out of play, as we all cheer we hear a loud scream.
I look over at Y/N and see her lying face down on the floor.
I run over to her and crouch down beside her, I run my hand across her back as I hear Josie shout for a doctor.
"Y/N, where does it hurt?" I ask her.
"my knee, I twisted my knee as I landed." I hear her whisper as she tries to talk through the pain.
I look down and see her squeezing her fist together, I grab her wrist and lift it up, I open her hand and place mine inside it squeezing it tight.
"it hurts Alex, so bad." I hear her cry.
"it's okay, baby. you'll be okay." I tell her, still rubbing across her back with my other hand.
the doctors come over and put her on the stretcher, with 3 minutes left on the clock they bring a replacement on.
none of us can focus on the game but thankfully the final whistle blows and we leave with the win.
I head over to the dressing room and sit down at my locker, I put my head in my hands and sigh.
I feel a hand on my shoulder, I look up and see Josie sat next to me.
"she'll be okay, she's a tough girl." Josie says.
"I know, but nobody likes getting injured, and it was her knee. that could leave her out for a while." I reply, feeling worried.
"maybe, but maybe not. we just have to sit tight and wait to see what happens." Josie tells me, rubbing my shoulder gently.
"no, I can't wait. I have to go and find her, I need to see her." I say, standing up.
"Alex, I don't think that's a good idea. just wait." I hear Josie call, but I'm already walking out the door.
...
Y/N POV.
I'm sat in a room waiting for the doctor to come back and tell me how bad my injury is. I know from the pain that it won't be good.
I'm in so much pain but all I can think about is Alex. I don't know why I hugged her after she scored but it felt good to be in her arms again.
as I'm sat thinking I hear a knock on the door.
"come in." I answer.
the door opens and in walks Alex, she looks over at me and smiles softly.
"hey Y/N/N, how are you feeling?" she asks as she walks over to me.
"I feel wonderful." I reply sarcastically.
"I'm sure you do." Alex says, smiling.
"honestly, it hurts so fucking bad." I tell her.
"have they said how bad your injury is?" she asks as she sits down on the bed next to me.
"no, it feels like I've been here ages, why does it take so long?" as I say that the door opens and the doctor walks in.
Alex gets up off the bed and begings walking towards the door.
I lean forward and grab her hand, she turns around and looks at me.
"stay, please." I tell her.
"of course." she replies, rubbing her thumb across my hand.
"okay Y/N, we have the results of your scan. it seems you have a Meniscus Tear, you're going to need a lot of rehabilitation. and, I'm sorry to say, you're going to be out of football for at least 3 months." the doctor tells me.
as I hear those words I freeze. 3 months? I can't be out for 3 months.
"if you work hard it may be sooner, but 3 months is usually what it takes. I'll give you some time to process this and I'll come back in a while. I'm sorry again Y/N." the doctor tells me, even though I'm not really listening.
I realise I started crying when I feel Alex wipe my tears away.
"hey, come on Y/N/N. 3 months isn't that long, you'll be back playing before you know it." I hear Alex tell me.
I don't bother replying I just put my head down and cry harder.
I feel Alex pull me closer to her, I turn my head and put it in her shoulder, I wrap my arms around her as she lays on the bed next to me.
we lay like that for a while and then I hear Alex talk.
"do you want me to take you home?" she asks quietly.
I nod, not wanting to talk.
20 minutes later and I'm leaving on crutches. I walk to Alex's car with my head down.
"come on, let's get you home." I hear Alex say.
I look up and walk around to the passenger side of the car, I place the crutches in the back of the car and hop over to the front, I open the door and climb inside.
the car journey home is silent, I don't have anything to say, I guess Alex doesn't either.
we pull up outside my apartment, Alex climbs out and runs around to my side, she grabs my crutches and helps me out of the car.
we get inside the elevator and wait for it to get to my floor, when it does we step out and I hand Alex my keys, we arrive at my apartment and Alex unlocks my door.
we head inside and I head straight for the couch. Alex follows behind me and sits next to me.
"do you need anything?" she asks quietly.
"no, thank you." I reply, looking down at my feet.
"here, put your leg up." I look at Alex and see her tapping her leg.
I grab my leg and lift it onto hers, she places her hands on my shin and rubs it gently. I lay back against the couch and close my eyes.
"Y/N?" I hear Alex say.
"hmm?" I reply.
"can I ask you something?" Alex asks.
"you just did." I joke.
"no, seriously." she tells me.
"sure, what's up?" I ask her.
"I know I hurt you, it was a long time ago, and we've both moved on since then. why do you still hate me?" she asks awkwardly.
I open my eyes and sigh, I rub my forehead and look over at Alex.
"I don't hate you, Al. I try to, but I can't. it would be so much easier than what I really feel but I just can't switch off my feelings. sometimes it was easy not to think about you but now I spend almost every day with you and it's harder to hide my feelings, so I try to pretend to hate you instead." I tell her honestly.
she looks up from her hands and looks into my eyes.
"how do you really feel, Y/N?" she asks quietly.
"it doesn't matter." I tell her, looking down and twiddling my thumbs.
she leans forward and places her fingers under my chin, lifting my head up she smiles at me.
"you still twiddle your thumbs when you're nervous." she tells me.
"yeah, I guess." I reply.
she leans closer to me and stares right into my eyes, I look back into hers, confused.
her lips so close to mine, I feel her breath as she whispers.
"I feel so much for you, it confused me at first but when I saw you get injured I realised just how much you mean to me. I never should have let you go all those years. I'm so, so sorry for what I did to you, baby. I can't apologise enough. I know it's hard to trust me, but I need you in my life. you know the saying, 'you never know what you have until you've lost it'? that's how it is with you. I think about you all the time, Y/N. all the time. I couldn't believe it when I joined the team and you were there, still as beautiful as ever. all I wanted was to run into your arms, hold you tight and never let you go. I was so dumb to do what I did to you, but please, forgive me. I want you, Y/N. I need you. I want you to be mine again, I love you, Y/N/N. so much."
I didn't take my eyes away from Alex's the whole time she was talking. honestly, I'm lost for words. I don't know what to say.
"what do you say, baby? will you be mine again?" I hear Alex ask.
"I was never not yours, you've always had my heart Al. from day one." I tell her honestly.
I see her smile widely and she leans forward and presses her lips tightly against mine.
I smile into the kiss as tears roll down my face. Alex pulls back and looks into my eyes, wiping my tears away.
"I love you baby." she tells me, smiling wide.
"I love you, more than anything." I tell her, pulling her back into a kiss.
maybe this injury won't be so bad after all.